Practical Tips for Memorizing Scripture {April Challenge}

What you memorize literally becomes a part of you. By storing information in your long-term memory, you create a foundation of ideas you can return to without effort for years to come. So as believers, memorizing God’s Word is incredibly important because scripture:

Is a weapon against the enemy’s lies and flesh’s temptations.

Helps us not to sin against God by reminding us what is and is not pleasing to Him.

Gives us words to pray when we don’t know what to say.

Comforts us in times of pain, sorrow, and loneliness.

Reminds us how to walk in godliness and what Truth is.

“For they are not meaningless words to you, but they are your live, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” –Deuteronomy 32:47

[pullquote width="300" float="left"]“What the heart knows by heart is what the heart really knows.” –Dennis Lennon[/pullquote]

Memorization is essentially perceiving information, putting it into your long-term memory, and recalling it at will.

To do that, the information must be meaningful or tied to something meaningful (a concept you already understand, an experience you’ve had, etc.) so that your memory takes note and holds onto the information rather than throwing it away.

Once it’s in your long-term memory, your brain makes a place for that information to stay. To access that information, your brain sends signals down the synapses to where that piece of information is located – picture it like a messenger traveling down a road to retrieve a message and bring it back to the main house. If the message is stored in a shed in a forest where there is no road, then it’s going to be hard for the messenger to go get it and bring it back.

Think of the process of repetition and the practice of recalling as a construction project - like building a road for the messenger to travel easily back and forth with the message. In memorizing, every time you repeat the information, you are making the road a little clearer and smoother.

“For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12

When you begin, you might be having to hack through branches in a forest, but before long, the trees will be out of the way, a dirt road will take shape, and at some point, it will turn into a paved road that is easy to travel.

Here are some tips to help with memorization:

Focus: If you’re distracted while trying to memorize Scripture, then your brain will not have the power it needs to make the verses memorable enough to move them into even short-term memory, let alone long-term. Remove all distractions, turn off your phone, and find a quiet space so you can devote all of your attention to memorizing.

Perception: Experience the Word through as many senses as possible – read it, write it by hand, speak it, hear it, form the letters of each word in the Sign Language alphabet, sing it, draw it, etc.. For example, I will write my verse of the week or month on my bedroom mirror or on a glass frame on my desk, where I can see it several times a day.

Repetition: Repeat your intake of the information again and again to give your brain the signal that this information is important and worth holding on to. Plus, like the description earlier, the more you repeat it, the smoother the path of access will be and thus the easier it will be to recall. It may seem monotonous, but just like scales on a piano, repetition is necessary to train your brain to become comfortable with these new pathways to the point where it no longer seems out of the ordinary and becomes an easy routine.

Recollection: Before you have a solid grasp on the material, practice recalling as much of the information as possible – this exercises your brain-muscles, strengthening your ability to recall the information easily later on. It works hand in hand with repetition to smooth those pathways.

Persistence: The main key is to just keep at it. Don’t get discouraged, especially if it takes you longer than you think it should. Persevere, continue to work at it, and refuse to let difficulty keep you back from this incredibly important discipline of a Christian’s life.

“This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. …Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word.” –Ephesians 6:13, 17b